Packing device.



G. F. STEEDMAN.

PACKING DEVICE. i APPLICATION lFILED MARA?, 1911.

Patented Aug. 15, 1911.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE:

G'IEOB'GIIr F. STEEDMAN, OI' STQLOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR T0 CURTIS & COMPANY .MANUFACTURING COMPNY, OF WELLST0N, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OE'MIS- soUnI.. Y f

To all whom 'it may concern.' y

Be it known that I, lGrEoluiE F. STEEDMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain other structures in which a flexible packing member is pressed against the cont-acting surface by the fluid pressure acting' on the member to be packed.

The main object if my invention is to pro- I vide a Ydevice for the 'purpose described which will successfully'y pack a member whose surface 'is more or less irregular. And another object is to provide an inexpensive pressure device that will -press the flexible member against the surface to be packed when the liuid which the packing is intended to contain is under little or nopressure.

I have hereinf illustrated 4my vinvention embodied in devices that are used for packing pistons and piston rods but it will, of course, be understood that it could be used for other purposes.

Figure l isa longitudinal sectional view of a cylinder provided witha piston that isv equipped with a packing deviceconstructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 42 is a cross'sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, the member 'which carries the pressure device being broken away so as to more clearly illustrate the construction of.

said device; Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a device constructed in accordancewith my invention for packing' a piston rod; and Fig. 4 is a sectional view illustrating a y slight modification of my invention.

Referring to Fig. 1 which illustrates one form of my invention, A designates a cylinder, and B designates a piston that is reciprocatingly mounted in said cylinder.

My improved packing devicevconsists of a cup-shaped leXible member 1 which is provided with an integral ring-shaped flange l that bears ,against the inner face of the cylinder, a pressure device carrier 2 connected to the piston and preferably ar- .ranged in suchk amanner that it clamps the flexible cup-shaped member 1 to the piston,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application mea maren 1y, 1911. serial No. 315,063.

PACKING 4munter.

' Patented Aug. 15, 1911.v

.and a pressure device 3 arranged between the carrier 2 and the Hange 1a on the flexible l member land operating to hold said flange tightly against the inner surface of the cylinder, the carrier 2 being vprovided in its perlpheral edge with a pocket or' groove 2a for receiving the pressure device 3.- The carr1er 2 can be connected to the piston in vany vsuitable manner, as for example, by means of nuts 4 mounted on studs 5 that project' forwardly from the front face of the piston' through openings in the carrier 2, and the front face of the carrier is preferably recessed, as shown in Fig. 1, so that the studs and nuts will inot project beyond the car-v rier.

The pressure device 3 which I prefer `to use consists of a coiled compression spring whose ends .are 'preferably connected together, as shown in Fig. 2, so as to produce a ring-shaped eXpandin device that is limber, pliable, resilient, exible and elasticand which constantlyk exerts outward pressure on the-flange lof the packing memben 1. The means shown in Fig. 2 for connecting the ends .of the spring 3'together consists of a short coiled spring 6 that is threaded `into the coilsy of the spring 3 but any other suitable means could be used for this purpose. Furthermore, while I prefer to usea coiled compression spring for pressling the packing member against the cylinder I do not wish it to be understood that my invention is limited to 'sucha device for any other suitable means that is limber, resilent and expansible could be used for this purpose.4

The main advantage of a packing device of the construction above described is that the flexible flange 18L of the packing member conforms accurately to the surface .against `which it bears owing to the limberness, re-

siliency, and expansibility of the pressure A device 3. Consequently, a'packing deviceof this construction will produce a perfectl tight joint between a piston and a cylinder Whose inner surface is more-or less irregular, as shown in Fig. 2.

. Another desirable feature of such a packing device is that it can be manufactured ata low cost; and still another feature lthat enhances its commercial value is the simple way of renewing the packing.

While I prefer to use leather or fibrous material for the packing member 1, said member could be formed from certain kinds of metal, or successive layers of thin metal,

vwhich is, soft and flexible enough to conform vaccurately toan uneven surface.

In Fig. 4 I have illustrated "a structure wherein the packing member is formed from thin layers of metal and provide with a flange 10 whose outer edge is reduced in thicknesss'o thatv it will be sufficiently v`flexible''t'o'conform accurately to the inner surface' ofthe cylinder.

- passes.

packing member 20 is Therpacking'device illustrated in Fig` 3- j embodiesTall-l of the characteristics of the packing-'device previously -described except thatitsi's used for packing apiston rod C or other, reciprocating devlce. The flexible hat-shaped \or provided with a ring-shaped flange 20?* through which the Vpiston rod passes, .and a vringshaped pressure device 23, preferably a coiled; tension spring, is arranged in such a manner that it exerts inward pressure on the flange 20n and thus presses it tightly against the piston rod, said spring 23 belng arranged in a groove or pocket 22a on a carrier 22 that secures the packing member to the stationary member D through which the piston lrod He-retofore, split rings formed from spring wire or bands of steel, have been used for pressing a flexible packing member against the surface to bey packed. If the surface being packed is perfectly true, such devices successfully perform their function, but if the surface is more' or less irregular, a leak will develop as soon as the fluid confined by the packing ceases to exert pressure on the packing member owing to the fact` that a ring formed from wire or from a band or strip of metal is'not limber or pliablefand consequently can'not conform to.

the irregularities in the surface being packed. I 4overcome this objectionable feature by using a pressure memberwhich is not only-resilient and elastic but also limber and pliable, thereby producing a packing device which will -successfully pack an irregular surfaceeven when the fluid which the packing deviceconfines is under little or no ressure.4 v f aving thus described my invention, what I claim as new anddesire to secure by Let-- ters Patent is:

'1. In a packing device, a packing member provided lwith. a ring-shaped flange that is sufficiently flexible foconform to an irregu lar curved surface, a -clamping member which retains said packing member in position, and a ring-shaped pressure device formed from a coiled compression spring and arranged ina pocket in said clamping member in enga ement with the flange on the packing mem er.

2. A vpiston packing device consisting of a packing member mounted on a pistonand -provided with a ring-shaped flange, a clamping member for securing said packing member tothe iston, said clamping member be- -ing provi ed with a groove, and a ringshaped pressure device formed from a coiled compression spring and arranged in said groove in engagement with the flange on said clampin member.

3. In a pac ring device, a packing member provided with-aflexible ring-shaped. flange, a clamping member that retains said Vpacking member in position, said clam ing member being provided with an annuvar pocket,

aring-shaped pressure device arranged in said pocket and consisting lof a coiled com- 

